1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to building construction and, more particularly, to a novel system for constructing the foundation and walls of a structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been known to construct foundations and structures utilizing interlocking components. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,340,656 issued May 18, 1920 to Hughes et al., an all-concrete mausoleum structure is disclosed which is provided with side walls, rear and front walls, respectively, built on a foundation formed with a longitudinally disposed groove. The lower construction is surmounted by a cap or roof member comprising a single slab or a plurality of slabs interlocked by means of tenons and cooperating slots. The roof member forms a locking device that ties the whole structure together.
More recently, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,134,941 issued Nov. 1, 1938 to Guignon, Jr., building units are disclosed which are in the nature of a block formed of sheet metal and comprising two complementary halves that may be fitted together on the job and filled with insulating material.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,676,482 issued Apr. 27, 1954 to Wilson, a wall of reinforced spaced building blocks are disclosed which are constructed of cement, stone, tile, and the like. A ladder-shaped frame is utilized for interconnecting the building blocks.
For many years, footings and walls constructed of concrete have customarily required a combination of metal and wooden forms which are erected in place after a proper excavation has been made. Thereafter, concrete is poured into the cavity defined by the form and allowed to harden. When the concrete is sufficiently hard, typically after a day or two, the forms are removed. Some parts of the forms can be re-used and other parts must be discarded. Also, the described activity is labor intensive. In short, current practice results in a substantial amount of waste, both time-wise and material-wise.
Still more recently, with the advent of light weight plastic foam materials, a number of constructions have been suggested for use as external wall forms for receiving concrete having a slurry composition. The following U.S. patents all disclose block forms of such light weight plastic foam material, each with a tongue and groove construction for erecting concrete walls: U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,969 issued Jan. 23, 1990 to Horobin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,528 issued Nov. 06, 1990 to Doran, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,600 issued Feb. 11, 1992 to Holland et al. At the same time, there has been no recent improvement, known to the inventor, to the manner of constructing the footing on which the wall forms and resulting walls are supported.
It was in light of the foregoing state of the prior art that the present invention was conceived and now has been reduced to practice.